CNO Adm. Greenert tours WD facilities

First impressions are everything and the personnel at NAWCWD didn’t waste their first impression with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert.And it paid off.

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By NAWCWD Public Affairs and Cheeto BarreraThe Daily Independent

Ridgecrest Daily Independent - Ridgecrest, CA

By NAWCWD Public Affairs and Cheeto BarreraThe Daily Independent

Posted Feb. 2, 2013 at 12:00 PM

By NAWCWD Public Affairs and Cheeto BarreraThe Daily Independent

Posted Feb. 2, 2013 at 12:00 PM

First impressions are everything and the personnel at NAWCWD didn’t waste their first impression with Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert.

And it paid off.

“It’s a jewel, a crown jewel, all those things. It’s unique, and can’t be replicated anywhere else. That has to be protected,” Adm. Greenert said.

Escorted by Congressman Kevin McCarthy, Adm. Greenert visited Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division China Lake on Jan. 31 for a tour and discussion about the command’s unique capabilities and national assets used for supporting the Navy’s mission.

After his tour, Adm. Greenert and McCarthy sat down for a brief press conference, where both talked up the value of China Lake and the work that is being done on base.

“We will look for those means to make logical and deliberate reductions if that is the order of the day, to keep a place like this going moving on,” Greenert said. “If anything, we want to increase the investment here to get things done that we need to get done.”

Greenert highlighted electronic warfare and the electro-magnetic spectrum warfare that is being developed on base that will be key to moving forward with the military’s mission to execute an objective and do so at the least amount of risk to personnel and equipment.

McCarthy added the military wants to continue the work started at China Lake and expanded upon following the 2005 Base Realignment at Closure process.

He pointed to the investment in new facilities, personnel training and partnerships in the community, especially with the school district, as why the government is serious about China Lake and what it does for the country.

“What I’m always so proud of, and you can’t reproduce this any where else in the country, is the brain trust that you see that is trying to solve the problems,” McCarthy said.

Adm. Greenert flew in from San Diego in the late afternoon and took a tour of the Weapons Division part of China Lake.

Rear Adm. Paul Sohl, NAWCWD commander, and Scott O’Neil, NAWCWD executive director, welcomed Greenert and gave him an overview of current operations and activities at the Weapons Division.

“We are the Navy’s technical arm that focuses on creating and delivering warfighting effects,” O’Neil told the CNO. “We are the leader in integration and interoperability for the Navy because of our unmatched intellectual capital and one-of-a-kind land and sea ranges, combined with our unique indoor and outdoor labs.”

McCarthy joined the CNO for the visit which included a walking tour at the F/A-18 - EA-18G Advanced Weapons Laboratory.

Dave Janiec, director of NAWCWD’s Weapons and Energetics Department, explained what the command is doing to accelerate weapons development, and improve test and evaluation of those weapons. The CNO also heard about the expected future of network enabled weapons, and what NAWCWD is doing to increase “speed to the fleet” through multiple rapid response projects.

“NAWCWD is supporting the Navy’s mission by putting more and more capabilities into the hands of our warfighters,” Sohl said.

Dr. Ron Smiley, head of NAWCWD’s Avionics Department, led a discussion about what the Weapons Division is doing to support electronic warfare readiness in today’s fleet. Tom Dowd, head of the NAWCWD Threat/Target Systems Department, gave Greenert an overview of how NAWCWD uses its air, land and sea ranges to provide a cost-effective and realistic threat environment in support of programs and training.

During his visit, Greenert saw some of the hardware that NAWCWD uses to perform research, development, and test and evaluation for the Navy’s weapons including an EA-18G Growler, a ScanEagle and two other unmanned systems, as well as various air, land and sea vehicles used to simulate targets and threats.

“We are a forward-leaning resource for the fleet,” O’Neil said. “We work to understand where technology can help create an advantage for our warfighters, and how we can exploit capabilities that already exist in our currently fielded systems to meet new needs.”

Sohl explained to the CNO that along with NAWCWD’s 1.1 million acres, 36,000 square miles of sea range and access to 20,000 square miles of restricted airspace, one of his key resources is the integrated team of civilians and military.

“The teaming of our civilian scientists and engineers with military members at the Weapons Division enables an agile Navy technical workforce to both understand and rapidly respond to emerging fleet needs,” Sohl said.

Following the tour, Greenert and McCarthy spoke with local media representatives.

McCarthy cited the passion of the workforce at NAWCWD.

Greenert agreed. “There’s unbelievable ownership here,” he said. “Even though it’s pretty late in the afternoon, I got pretty wound up listening to all this. It’s been a terrific visit. I’m looking forward to coming back. I’ve only whetted my appetite.”